Current title is slightly different: "Brexit: UK to leave single market, says Theresa May"
Don't know if the article title has changed or submission title was slightly edited.
Theresa May: UK must leave European single market
241–250 of 324 posts
Re: Theresa May: UK must leave European single market
#242For anyone not familiar with British political etiquette, the phrase: "the UK cannot remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean not leaving the EU at all" can be interpreted as: "I told them they better give us a special exception for single market access and no immigration and they laughed at me".
And for anyone not familiar with what's likely going on behind the scenes: it's about lowering the corporation tax in the UK. I don't know whether this is a new idea or not, but it would give the UK the leverage it needs in negotiations; will persuade many multinational corporations to stay and will even attract new ones. However, there will be a lot of pain for ordinary people in the interim. Not for corporations th…
I think both the Netherlands and Ireland will be happy to compete with that. And they have single market access.
Not sure the UK has the cost structure that'd allow being a true tax haven. Lower corporate tax alone won't make everyone move/stay.
Re: Theresa May: UK must leave European single market
#243For anyone not familiar with British political etiquette, the phrase: "the UK cannot remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean not leaving the EU at all" can be interpreted as: "I told them they better give us a special exception for single market access and no immigration and they laughed at me".
Which is funny because if the EU is to survive, immigration controls will have to be put in place. Many countries are already demanding to control their borders. So when that happens, the UK will feel stupid for leaving, I suppose. They could've just waited.
The UK is not talking about non-EU migration. The concern is EU migration. And that's very different to other EU countries. Germany and France are not concerned keeping people from Poland out.
Re: Theresa May: UK must leave European single market
#244Earlier quoted context omitted.
it was a key stated pledge of the leave campaign, so unless you were watching some other referendum campaign the suggestion that border control had nothing to do with it is disingenuous at best. In case anyone wants to argue that immigration wasn't a key part of the leave campaign... https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/27/eu-referend... a key pledge related to immigration directly and another was closely as…
> it was a key stated pledge of the leave campaign Which leave campaign? There was a few of them and they didn't give a consistent message. None actually have any power to implement anything so how can they make pledges anyway? Also, that link has the picture of the bus as the first image... a 'pledge' completely based on lies that was dropped literally minutes after the vote.
Let me ask you a question. Do you honestly believe that a big part (if not the key part) of the leave campaign (pick any one you like) wasn't about immigration and border control?
Re: Theresa May: UK must leave European single market
#245Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem is not about the different VAT rates in different countries. The problem is the process for claiming VAT paid in another EU country. That process is so ridiculously complex that up to a certain amount even accountants have largely given up on it because it's not worth the bother.
indeed, I simply stopped selling services to the rest of the EU as it was not worth the effort in dealing with the new EU VAT regime, even though my small operation is below the threshold for VAT registration in my home country
I'd hope it's easier to sell to other EU companies within the EU than trying to export into the EU from outside, despite the VAT regime, in which case the bureaucracy is a net positive in that regard.
Re: Theresa May: UK must leave European single market
#246Earlier quoted context omitted.
The was no reference to border control in the referendum ballot.
it was a key stated pledge of the leave campaign, so unless you were watching some other referendum campaign the suggestion that border control had nothing to do with it is disingenuous at best. In case anyone wants to argue that immigration wasn't a key part of the leave campaign... https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/27/eu-referend... a key pledge related to immigration directly and another was closely as…
Is it the same article that claims that the leave campaign also promised access to the single market and that reports that the foreign secretary declared that 'the leave campaign had made “contradictory” and “mutually incompatible” promises to the British people'?
Re: Theresa May: UK must leave European single market
#247Earlier quoted context omitted.
Agree completely. An ambiguous referendum that gave no guidance. An unelected PM who has taken it upon herself to define the most egregious future path. The only ethical stance is to set out definite terms (which I guess she is now doing) and hold a general election (which I am 100% sure she will not).
> An unelected PM She was elected by her party, just like Cameron was.
And just like Corbyn. That's the way it's always worked in the UK - we don't have a "president". Amazing how many people don't understand this.
Re: Theresa May: UK must leave European single market
#248Earlier quoted context omitted.
The point is there WAS a vote. A democratic vote. I'm looking at it from the outside and don't care either way - except that the way some very vocal ones of the so-called "remainers" dislike democracy and voting as soon as they don't get what they want disgusts me. Remember your attitude when some day - inevitably - it will be the other way around, you won a vote and the other side comes up with the same arguments.
Maybe you've misunderstood how democracy works with a dictatorship. Just because your "side" lost the vote does not mean you cave in and blindly follow down a blind alley. By your reasoning, the other opposition parties (Labour, Liberal Democrats et al) should just sit idly by and not question or argue against any Tory policies for that term of Government? I agree with you that the vote has been cast, the UK is leavi…
Maybe you've misunderstood how democracy works with a dictatorship. Just because your "side" lost the vote does not mean you cave in and blindly follow down a blind alley
But that is exactly what Remain would expect Leave to do, had Remain won, and everyone knows it.
Re: Theresa May: UK must leave European single market
#249I began 2016 knowing (and hoping) Remain would win the referendum, and Clinton would win the presidency. So I'm not going to make any predictions at all. Despite this speech, we still have absolutely no idea what conversations are being had in private, or how anything is going to work out.
The EU is going to slaughter the UK. That's basically their public position, and there's little reason to suspect they hold different private positions. It's the only thing that makes political sense. An agreement needs to be reached about EU citizens already living in the UK, and UK citizens in the EU. That's maybe the only critical issue where they have common ground. In every other respect, the UK is going to take…
Please stop the victim playing. The EU is not going to "slaughter the UK". The EU is simply going to uphold the value of EU membership.
EU membership is something different that non EU membership. UK is opting for non EU membership, and even for a deal completely different than any other country has. We will reach that kind of deal.
But please do not pretend that the expected agreement is "the UK gets unfettered access to the EU market without having to compromise in other areas like all EU members do", and that any other agreement is unfair.
I am perfectly fine with the UK's starting position to be that one. The EU's starting position is "We want access to the city, free access to the UK market, payment for 40 years of deal making and market uniformization (which is going to be adopted on day one as British law), infrastructures, research, patents owned by British companies paid with EU funds, investments in UK culture and economy, unfettered access to UK's market". Anything less than that would be totally unfair to the EU, right?
Now let's compromise.
Re: Theresa May: UK must leave European single market
#250Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Massachusetts can't just decide to become a Scandanavian-style welfare state if it can't control the flow of people and commerce across its borders In the EU we have some countries with Scandinavian-style welfare states, and some without it. And still the EU exists, which seems impossible according to your comment.
All of the pre-2000s EU members have robust welfare states. It's an open question whether the EU will continue to exist with all the new members (or whether it would have continued to exist taking on countries like Turkey like it was originally on course to do).
> taking on countries like Turkey like it was originally on course to do
Pushed by the UK and the US